4 escape Kailua house fire

Four residents Tuesday safely escaped an early morning fire that ripped through a two-story home in Kailua.

Nine units with more than 30 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire at a wooden, single-family home at 1476 Kupau St. at about 4:55 a.m. When they arrived they saw the second floor of the residence engulfed in flames.

Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Scot Seguirant said four occupants — two males and two females — safely escaped the home after a female in the neighborhood alerted them of the fire.

Lisa Vegas, who lives across the street, said she woke up after she heard a female yelling, “Fire, fire!”

Vegas said her husband and other neighbors grabbed hoses and sprayed water on the flames in an attempt to control the blaze. “My husband tried to get onto the roof, but there wasn’t a way to get up there and then the fire just got so big.”

Area residents saw roaring flames coming from the second floor.

Firefighters brought the fire under control at approximately 5:35 a.m. and extinguished it an hour later.

A home next door also sustained some damage by the fire.

Emergency Medical Serv­ices treated two neighbors — two women, ages 76 and 93 — at the scene for smoke inhalation. Both declined to be taken to the hospital for further treatment.

Seguirant said the home did have smoking detectors, but it is unclear whether the flames activated the detectors at the time of the blaze. “(The residents) were not alerted by the smoke detectors.”

The cause of the fire and and a damage estimate have yet to be determined.

A family of five resided in the home. Volunteers of the American Red Cross are assisting displaced residents.

Seguirant stressed to the public to test their smoke detectors monthly to ensure the devices in their homes are working properly.